Co-op prices show people want to live in town centers

As Sweden's home prices have skyrocketed in the last five years, the value of apartments in housing cooperatives (co-ops) has far outstripped that of larger houses.

Prices for co-ops have increased the most in Norrbotten and Västerbotten, the northernmost counties, reports Swedish Radio news.

"You want to live centrally in the city. If we had a green wave a number of years ago, now we can say we're having a gray wave today. Many choose to prioritize nearness to the city center. And those homes in the center are apartments and often co-ops," said Lars-Erik Nykvist, CEO of Fastighetsbyrån, a realtor.

According to new figures from Svensk Mäklarstatistik, an organization which tracks real estate prices, while the prices for co-ops in Stockholm county have increased by 45 percent in the last five years, they have jumped 166 percent in Norbotten county. In Söderköping municipality, just south of Norrköping on the southeast coastline, the prices for co-ops leaped 402 percent in the last five years.

Our journalism is based on credibility and impartiality. Swedish Radio is independent and not affiliated to any political, religious, financial, public or private interests.